Bonds of the Brotherhood
by wildkitkat
Summary: The brotherhood are in trouble, BIG TROUBLE. They have to make choices, not just for themselves but their comrades as well, if they are too survive. Now they learn what it really means to be a family.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Breakfast!"

It was morning in the Brotherhood household.  
Tabitha stood at the breakfast table; slowly the other brotherhood members came in and joined her.

"Thanks Tabby," said Lance.

"No prob! Its not much though….."

"Hey," Pietro interjected. "this is great, honestly."

"Yeah, yo." added Toad.

Tabitha smiled.  
Times were getting hard. After the Asteroid M fiasco and Magneto had disappeared, their financial situation had grown desperate. Even then they had still managed.  
In an odd way to all of them, they had been happy too, as far as their dysfunctional family went.

Then Magneto came and things changed, for the worst. Things were drastic now.

Magneto was very displeased and had taken out his frustration on Pietro.

Pietro smiled as Tabitha passed him a piece of toast.

He wore black jeans and a pitch black long-sleeved top. They all knew underneath the top he was covered in multiple cuts and bruises, the gashes covered with crude makeshift bandages.

Todd looked pale and gaunt as he nibbled at his toast.  
Magneto had begun 'sessions' with him. Sleep deprivation and malnourishment had left Todd exhausted. Yet, still he smiled and joked with Tabby.

Lance kept asking everyone to get a move on, so they wouldn't be late for school. He took some more aspirin to try lessen the pounding in his head and flexed his shoulders to try release his aching muscles. The headaches were getting worse, slowly but surely.

Tabitha stumbled a bit and Toad lashed out his tongue and pushed a chair forward. Tabitha gratefully sat down. Magneto had her overtaxing her powers. Pushing her to the limits with her powers to create more complicated and powerful bombs. This left her feeling dizzy and light headed sometimes, even on the verge of blacking out.

Tabitha sighed, "That's the last of the food, guys".

Lance frowned. "I used all my work money to pay the rent."

Pietro wiped his mouth and said," I'll try ask father," he said the word 'father' with venom. "-for some money this evening."

Lance grabbed Pietro's shoulder, causing the pale teen to wince.  
"No way! Remember what he did last time you asked."

Pietro hung his head in shame. The wound was beginning to fade but there would surely be a scar. A little reminder for the son of Magneto, if he ever so dared to ask for money to feed and shelter himself and comrades again.

"No prob, yo,"said Toad. "I'll try get us something today from that little vegetable and fruit store- guy's half blind, I should be able to snag some eats".

Lance rubbed his head as he thought it over.  
"Okay, but be careful, all we need is for you to get nailed, play it safe alright?"

Todd nodded.

"Heck! The time! Lets go!"

Everyone hustled to Lance's jeep; if they didn't have enough money for more petrol when the tank emptied, they would be walking soon.

Toad slammed the door shut as he jumped in the backseat. As Lance started the car, Tabitha spoke up:  
"Does anyone feel, y'know, strange today?"

Everyone answered with a half shrug and a nod.

Todd tried to crack a smile. "Maybe it was Tabs cooking! We shouldn't have let you make toast Tabby!"

Tabitha playfully tried to swat him while the others let out a nervous laugh.

Lance clutched the steering wheel. He knew exactly what Tabitha was talking about.

He had it, they all had it, festering at the pit of their empty stomachs and at the back of their troubled minds. Everyone in the Brotherhood had the same feeling:

Dread.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Lance pulled up into a parking spot near the front of Bayville High School.

As usual, the school was bustling with activity. Toad stared ahead then gulped,

"Guys, can we sorta leave school for today?"

The other members looked in the direction Todd was looking at and eyed Duncan Matthews.

"Oh Toady," said Tabitha giving him a small hug. "I'll walk with you to class, O.K.?"

Toad gave a feeble nod of thanks and they continued walking.

As they walked towards the entrance, Scott's car screeched ahead and parked perfectly in an open space.

The X-men piled out and started chattering away till they eyed the Brotherhood.

Scott immediately stepped forward when he noticed Lance looking at them.

"What doyou want, Alvers!"

Lance stared hard at him, disgust written all over his face.  
"For you to get your stupid face outta the way so I can say hello to Kitty!"

Scott shifted to the left. "Yeah right," he muttered.

Lance noticed Kitty shifting from one foot to another uncomfortably, she obviously was not happy with the idea of Lance saying 'hi' to her.  
"You know what? Leave it!" He turned around and the ground gave a small tremor.

Pietro and Tabitha gave the X-men dirty looks and began to follow the Earth mutant.

Toad was a bit too slow and Scott stepped forward and grabbed the Frog boy by the arm.

In a blur, Pietro was looking up, right in his face, he gave a small hiss, "Let go of him, now. Before I do something that you will regret." He said in a deadly whisper.

Scott took a step back but a second later stood right up to Pietro, chest out, sunglasses glinting in the morning sun.  
"I just wanted to tell your little green buddy that he can't skip school now; it's just started."

Pietro stepped down and crossed his arms.  
"Fine," he said, then looked over to Todd. "Toad, no skipping school now."

Scott released the boy and Toad quickly took place by Pietro.

As they turned Pietro said in a clear voice, loud enough for the X-men to hear.  
"No skipping school now, but you have my permission to skip after lunch, got it?"

They both laughed and walked off to an awaiting Tabitha and Lance.

Scott clenched his fists.

"Damn them!"

* * *

Toad sat in class while the teacher droned on and on. His stomach growled hungrily and a girl near him gave him a weird look.

Toad patted his stomach sympathetically.

_Sorry Buddy, I'll nab something at lunch break._

He still felt something gnawing at him besides hunger.

_I hope the others are o.k._

* * *

Pietro ran the 5th lap around the basketball court.  
He was sweating heavily but no way was he going to shed his long sleeved top for the others to notice his cuts and bruises.

The new coach who had replaced Mr. McCoy signaled to come over to him.

Pietro slowly jogged over to the coach.

"Maximoff, where is your gym kit?"

Pietro took a deep breath of air.  
"Sorry coach, at home."

Mr. Pent stared at him.  
"FOR THE LAST SIX WEEKS?"

Pietro stood straighter and without batting an eye, "yes sir."

Evan noticed this and ran up to the coach.  
"Mr. Pent, I have a spare set in my locker, see?" he held up the extra pants and shirt.

"Good Daniels." Then the coach turned to Pietro. "Maximoff, go change! I want you back here in 5 minutes!"  
He turned round to Evan again but noticed Pietro hadn't made a move. He whipped around.  
"NOW!"

Pietro stared back, giving him a cool look.  
"No thank you, I'm fine in the clothes I'm in."

The coach was going red now. "IT WASN'T A SUGGESTION!"

Now the whole court was staring at the unfolding scene, all waiting for Pietro's response.

"No." he replied calmly.

"YOU AND ME ARE GONNA COME TO BLOWS ANY SECOND MISTER!"

Pietro bent his head to the side, "Its you and I, if you are going to speak the English language, do so correctly."

The coaches face was like thunder now. Pietro knew he must have sounded cocky but in truth, he was scared spineless. He was just trying to hide how scared he was. All that needed to happen was the discovery of his injuries for disaster to happen.

A voice rang out across the court. "Mr. Pent! May you and I speak in your office for a few minutes, perhaps if Pietro joined us?"  
It was Mr. Workman, the second gym teacher and guidance councilor.

Everyone beat a hasty retreat when they realized the confrontation was over.

Evan watched wide-eyed as Pietro was taken to the office at the end of the gym.  
_I have to tell Scott and the others._

* * *

Tabitha was in English, and she was feeling unusually dizzy.

The teacher asked the class to hand in their book reports.

She pulled out hers from her bag.

Neatly at the top it said:  
TABITHA SMITH  
WORDS OF STONE --- KEVIN HENKES.

As she stood up she felt lightheaded, still she walked up on shaky legs.

As she handed in the report, the teacher asked, "Are you alright Ms. Smith?"

The teachers voice seemed so far away.

_No, I'm not alright. I want to curl up and die._

Instead she smiled and said, "Yeah."

She tried to walk to her desk but she couldn't make anything out. Everything seemed to be a blur. Her legs buckled beneath her. Tabitha opened her eyes. She tried to get up but her body wasn't responding. Someone loomed over her.

_I'm fine, just fell._

But her voice couldn't put the words out.

Then her world went blank and Tabitha happily sunk into the darkness.

* * *

Mr. Workman stared at Pietro pacing the room. He wasn't stupid, he knew something was up with Pietro, all he needed was proof to confirm his suspicions.  
"Pietro," he said in a coaching voice. "Just bear with me."

Pietro glared at him, "You want me to take my shirt off? Whar are you, some kind of sicko freak! No freaking way!"

Mr. Workman rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Even if you just roll up your sleeve."

Pietro was freaking out, outside in the gym, he could see Evan talking to Scott and Jean, they were joined by Kurt and the small group were now heading towards the office.

_Think! Think!_

* * *

Lance was in Chemistry, he was sitting opposite Kitty.

It felt like a drum was in his head, the pounding was intense.

Suddenly there was silence and Lance realized the Science teacher was yelling, "Mr. Alvers!"

He looked up, the teacher was right in front of him. Kitty was giving him an 'Are you okay?' look.

"Y-Yes sir," he said as he ran a hand over his brow trying to rid himself of the drops of sweat that was running down his face. "C-Can I just go to the bathroom?"

"Yes, of course."

As Lance stood up, he felt a searing pain rip through his head.  
"AAGGHHH!" he yelled, falling to his knees.

"Mr. Alvers! Mr. Alvers!" then he heard "Lance!" in Kitty's high-pitched voice.

Lance struggled to his feet.  
"I'm fine! Just gotta go to the bathroom!"

Noone seemed to notice the chairs and tables lightly rattling.

Lance pushed himself forward and out of the door. He ran blindly to an old bathroom on the second floor where he crashed to the floor in front of the sink.

Grabbing the edge of the sink, he pulled himself up and stared back into the pained eyes. The pain mounted and Lance squeezed his eyes shut.

"RRAAAuuGG!"

With a yell he slammed his fist into the mirror.

As the glass shattered onto the floor in a hundred pieces, Lance felt as if his mind was

doing the same thing.

He crouched in the corner, willing it to all end.

Not just his nightmare, but his comrade's as well.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Pietro had an idea, it was lame but it would have to do.

Turning to the two coaches he said, "If you don't let me leave right now, I'll tell everyone of you," he pointed at Mr. Workman, "were kissing him." He pointed to Mr. Pent.

They were outraged.

"You will do no such thing!" yelled Mr. Workman.

"That comment has earned you a detention young man!" growled Mr. Pent.

Pietro smirked, "Great! See you Friday detention!"

Then he dashed out of the room, nearly colliding with Cyclops, leaving two very dumbfounded men behind.

* * *

Tabitha awoke.

Slowly she stretched her muscles, she still felt a bit faint.

She gave a moan as her head began to spin.

"Hello, I'm glad you're awake."

Tabitha turned to the source of the noise and was handed a cup by the school nurse.

"It's sugar mixed in water, it will help get your strength up."

Tabitha slowly sipped the sweetened liquid.

"Thank you."

The nurse beamed.  
"No problem, you go when you're up to it; oh there's the phone."

The bell rang for lunch break.

Tabitha swung her legs over the side of the hospital cot.

_I have to find the others._

* * *

Todd smiled.

Finally, perhaps he could snag a wallet to try buy some food. If not he could stuff some apples under his shirt for him and the others. Eagerly, he head forth for the exit.

* * *

Lance was messing around with a tray left by another student and was trying to make a meal out of it. He looked over at the vending machine.

_I'll try and get the others a cool drink._

He walked to the machine and used his powers to shake the drinks into the slot.

_I hope Toad is okay._

Pietro was waiting at a table by the side of the cafeteria. He tapped his foot impatiently.

_Where are the others?_

His thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Workman appearing at his side.

_Don't give up, do you?_

"I'm sorry to bother your lunch Pietro, but please for my sake?"

Pietro stared straight at him.

"Please die." He said flatly.

Before he knew it, a meaty hand lifted him by the arm and his toes were only just brushing the floor.

"There's only one way to find out for sure Tom."

Pietro swung his head back and his eyes widened with realization.

Mr. Pent was just about to pull Pietro's shirt up when he was met with a punch in the jaw.

Pietro didn't stop there. He was wild, kicking and punching at the man.

"LET. GO. OF. ME!"

The second coach grabbed his arms and pinned them with one hand and reached for the hem of his shirt.

"NO!" cried Pietro.

What no one counted on was Lance Alvers pummeling into them screaming,

"YOU GET OFF HIM NOW, OR I SWEAR I'LL SMASH YOUR SKULL!"

Now these were two grown, physically strong men. But by nature and experience Lance was a brawler. Pietro fought with such intensity, vigour and desperation it was though he were fighting for his life.

It took the X-men, a couple of jocks and another teacher to get them separated.

Lance wiped a small dribble of blood off the side of his mouth with the back of his hand, glancing at Pietro he said, "Let's move."

They both ran.

Hands grabbed at them and there were shouts of warnings.

They dodged teachers, tables and various obstacles. Just as they neared the doors, Tabitha burst through them.

"Guys, we should leave…."

She couldn't finish her sentence as the boys rushed by her and Lance caught her by the wrist.

"Good idea!" he said.

Pietro grabbed her other arm,

"Yeah, great minds think alike!"

They yanked her with them and out the doors, their feet could be heard thudding against the tile floors as they ran.

Jean frowned.

Professor, I think we may have a situation…

* * *

Lance gunned the engine for the last few blocks to their house.

They had just driven up to the Brotherhood house and they noticed a forlorn figure sitting on the sign.

"You O.K. Toady?" asked Tabitha.

"No, yo," said Toad. "I got nailed."

Pietro gave him a playful push. "Don't worry, by the sound of it, we all did!"

They all trudged in, talking at once about their day and why and how each of them had cut school short. The talking stopped instantly as they walked into the kitchen. Standing there was a very unexpected and though none would say it, very unwanted guest.

"Now Pietro." Said the cold, harsh voice.

Pietro visibly paled at the sight of Magneto, his father.

As the two left, the remainders together and silently pleaded to any force humanity and mercy, to let Pietro come back safe.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Later that evening, the Brotherhood anxiously waited for Pietro's return.

They had all pitched in to try tidy up the place a bit. They knew Pietro would be happy to see the place neat. Now they all waited in the waiting room. The room was dark and Tabitha 'Boom Boom' was entertaining the others with beautiful spheres of golden, almost white lights.

In the silence the doorbell rang, a soft sweet melody.  
Almost immediately the mood lightened.

Toad eagerly hopped down the passageway.  
"It's early, maybe he laid off him a bit."

Tabitha followed behind him.  
"Yeah, maybe something good finally happened!"

Lance was first at the door, he ushered them to keep it down with a frantic wave of his hand.  
Looking through the peephole, he whispered,

"Its not him; some woman."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"RUN!"

Two policemen grabbed Lance's arms and roughly pulled him into a sitting position.

The other four cops rushed past and made a grab at the others.

One grabbed Tabitha. He held her arm and pulled her down the stairway.

"Oooow, my arm!" She squealed.

The cop hastily let go and Tabitha punched him straight in the face that sent him down the last couple of steps.

"Sucker!" she yelled and then leapt onto the back of the officer trying to handcuff Toad and started pounding him on his head.

Toad was kicking at the officers coming at him. As Tabitha jumped on the one nearest to him, he dodged the other one to his left and then hopped down the stairs to assist Lance.

Two officers were pulling at Pietro's legs but he was holding tight on the banister. He bit his tongue in pain. The pulling was causing his cuts to open.

In the background Miranda was trying to talk over the din.

"We just want to help you, please calm down."

This was the scene that Charles Xavier, Hank McCoy , Ororo Monroe and Logan walked into when they arrived two minutes later.

The first thing they saw was Lance punching at two officers, one cop held Toad but released soon released him to block a punch from Lance. The cop then punched Lance in the gut, as Lance tried to get his breath the officer got him in a headlock. Toad bound up and with half a flip gave the officer an almighty kick that sent the man flying. Now Toad and Lance were standing back to back, breathing heavily.

In the background they could see Tabitha lunging at two other officers who were pulling at Pietro's legs, another two were trying to restrain her with little success. All the while she was swearing and cursing with such language that even had Logan raising an eyebrow.

Miranda sidled up to Charles.  
"Uugh, any idea's? I thought Ms. Smith was in your care?"

Charles raised an eyebrow at her, "Emphasize on was, and you really should concentrate more on your paperwork.  
He pressed his fingertips together.  
"I have a proposition, may I voice it?"

Miranda sighed.  
"By all means."

Charles and his staff turned to the teenagers before them.  
"Lance, Pietro, Todd, Tabitha, I give you the option of either being placed into foster or a detention center, or you may proceed to join with my other students at the institute, no question asked."

While Xavier had been speaking, the fighting had decreased, there was silence as the teens looked in his direction except for Pietro who gave the cop a little kick.

They let the information sink in for a moment and they all began:

"HELL NO, YO!" yelled Toad

"YOU'RE MENTAL BALDY!" screamed Quicksilver.

"NO WAY WE GO TO THE X-GEEKS!" added Avalanche.

"OR FOSTER!" screeched Boom Boom.

"YEAH!" They all yelled in unison.

Professor X massaged his forehead.  
"Miranda, I know these teens, if you could leave, I assure you I will deal with them personally. I will send a detailed report to your office in the morning."

Miranda shrugged.  
_No use fighting a losing battle._

She motioned for the other officers to follow her. They practically dumped whoever they were holding and exited through the door. As the last cop went through the doorway and shut the door. They waited till they heard the slam of doors and the last engine roar in the distance. Xavier closed his eyes and concentrated, they would have forgotten this incident by the morning.

There was silence, the only sounds that could be heard was the wind through the trees and the crickets chirping outside.

Logan checked the door was closed and made a show of locking it and putting the key in his boot. He stripped his top and jeans to reveal his uniform underneath. Beast switched off his image enhancer while Storm took off her coat and headband, her navy-blue uniform was underneath as well.

Xavier moved forward and cleared his throat.  
"You may choose now- do you wish to sit and discuss your current situation in a civil manner or fight?"

Pietro was sitting up on the floor, leaning on one hand for support while his other hand he held below his ribs.  
"If you think you can trick us with talking…."

Toad hopped next to him, crouching low, ready to jump and protect him at a moments notice, he said, "Then you've got another think coming!"

Tabitha moved and stood in front of the two of them, fists raised at her sides. Now she spoke, "What we're really saying is…."

Lance stepped in front of Tabitha, battle stance poised,

"WE FIGHT!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Xavier quickly spoke to his co-workers telepathically.

_Pietro seems hurt, we need to end this quickly._

_Notice the positions their in. Toad is the weakest fighter; he must be back up protection for Pietro. Lance and Tabitha seem to be the main line of defense._

Storm:  
_I will take Tabitha._

Beast:  
_I shall verse Lance._

Wolverine:  
_I'll get the other two._

The X-men leapt forward, Lance instantly reacted by shooting out a shockwave in their direction. Beast lost his balance and stumbled forward but regained his balance and continued onwards. Wolverine dodged the tremor attack and jumped towards Pietro, but Toad jumped in his path and spat his slimy green goo in his face. As Wolverine tried to clear the mess from hid eyes, he noticed Toad putting Quicksilver on his back and try to hop up the stairs. Logan bound up the stairs three at a time and tackled the amphibian mutant to the ground.

There were small bangs and waves of heat as Boom Boom unleashed a fury of bombs at Wolverine. Storm drew up a powerful wind and sent Tabitha soaring through the air and over the banister to the wooden floor below.

Toad spat out his tongue and caught her by her midriff in midair. Momentarily distracted Logan took the opportunity to grab Quicksilver, he tucked the pale teen under his arm and dashed down the stairs. He deposited him next to the Professor and turned to survey the others. Beast had Lance pinned with his tremendous weight, as much as Lance struggled, he had to concentrate on breathing under the fur instead of a tremor.

_Hank looks like he's managing._

Storm on the other hand was trying to dodge bombs and narrowly missing a whipping from a 12 foot slimy tongue.

Once again Logan ran forth and tackled Toad to the ground, leaving Storm to deal with Boom Boom. Wolverine carefully placed two fingers on a part of the young boys neck, as he applied pressure he knew it would render the struggling teen unconscious without long term affects.  
"Logan, look out!"  
Logan turned but it was too late. Using his super speed, Quicksilver grabbed a lamp and promptly smashed it over the feral mutants head. In a blur he ran at Storm and sent her tumbling.

Toad hopped over to Beast and wrapped his tongue around his neck. Beast released Lance to try loosen the strangling hold.

In a white flash, Pietro appeared at the bottom of the stairway were only a few feet away, Storm rubbed her head, trying to regain her sense of surroundings. Quicksilver stood for a moment but then began to sway and slid to the floor in a heap. Fresh blood pumped through the cuts, giving the normally ghostly white boy a tinged complexion of bronze.

Lance ran over and helped Pietro to his feet, even he could see that the blood loss had made him weak. Lance half dragged him to the kitchen.  
"Toad, Boom Boom!"

Todd and Tabitha turned to their leader at the sound of their codenames and quickly assessed the situation. They all ran to the kitchen while Avalanche sent a tremor to the X-men staff. Boom Boom blasted the door and ran over to Toad and helped him drag Quicksilver out. As the dust billowed out, four shadows emerged. Toad and Tabitha desperately trying to get to the wooded area behind their boarding home with a dazed Pietro between them. A few feet behind appeared Lance. Checking around for any sense of pursuers. As he ran forward he fell to his knees with a small yell. The three teens turned to see who had caused their leaders fall and noticed noone. Then they noticed Lance gripping his head in pain, his knuckles almost white and his face in an agonizing grimace.  
"Not now," whispered Tabitha.

Toad and Pietro turned to the blond but she instead fell face forward into the dusty soil. Tabitha had collapsed. Her eyes looked in their direction but they were glassy. Flittering her eyelashes her eyes closed and her breathing became haggard. She rolled over on her side and was lost to the world.

Pietro stared at the debris in horror.

Lance was on the ground, writhing on the ground in pain.

Tabitha was on the ground, too weak to even stand up.

Toad looked around with huge, yellow eyes. Pain and confusion over fear clouded his normally gentle face.

Pietro could stand it no longer.

"FATHER!"

He rose to his feet, adrenaline pumping through every vein of his body. He blindly ran forward, two single tears trailed down his smooth cheeks, disappearing under his pointed chin. With pale blue eyes he stared to the silver moon.  
"As your son if not anything else; please help us!"

In the silence that followed a voice whispered in the wind.  
_Run then, run._

He looked back at his fallen comrades.  
"What about the others?"

The wind answered.  
_Leave Them._

Pietro hesitated. He wanted to do what he did best.

_Run,Run,Run,Run._

Lance, gripping his head in pain, trying to stifle his grunts. His best friend. He'd never had one of those before.

_Run,Run,Run,Run,Run._

Tabitha, sprawled on the ground, defenseless. He knew the devil she loved to be and was. Yet as the moon shone gentle on her skin, she looked like an angel, so pure and fragile.

_Run,run,run,run,run,run,run._

Toad looking at him with pleading eyes that asked, would he abandon him like so many before? No-one had looked up at him before. Wait, yes, one other person. It was too painful too remember right now.

_Run,run,run,run,run,run._

Three shadows approached.

_Run,run,run,run,run,run._

"_NO!"_

Three shadows drew closer.

"Come on Todd!"

The terrified boys grabbed Tabitha and Lance and ran through leafy branches and upturned roots and fell through some thicket into a clearing.

There was not a lot of time. All they could see was Lances jeep and the X-van. There was not a lot of time. Pietro knew that Lance hid his jeep keys ever since Tabby had started 'borrowing' it. Using super speed he could just see the outline of the keys in the ignition in the windscreen. Zipping back, he motioned to Todd.

They lifted the two teens into the back of the X-van and Toad hopped in after them. Quicksilver slammed the doors shut. He ran to the drivers side and yanked at the door. It wouldn't budge.

"Crap!"

He ran to the other side and to his relief was able to open the passenger door with ease. He quickly jumped in and shut it. He leaned back and took a deep breath to try steady his nerves.

Then he froze.

Even though it was dark and no light shone through the tinted windows, there was still the unmistakable form of some one sitting behind the steering wheel.

"Aaghh!" yelled a petrified Pietro.

Pietro tried desperately to open the door but it wouldn't.

"Kiddy locks," said a gruff voice, then chuckled. "Thought Chuck was crazy to have these things put in, but they came in handy huh?"

The figure lit a cigar and in the light of the tiny flame, the memorable face of Logan gave a small smile.

He leaned towards Pietro who gave a small shriek and raised his hands to protect himself from punches that never came. Instead Logan pulled the frightened teens seatbelt across and clicked it in place. He gave the boy what he hoped was a reassuring smile.  
"Don't want you to get hurt now, do we?"

Though Wolverine's intentions were good, Pietro was now ready to use his head as a hammer to break through the glass. Fear reeked out of every pore. In other words, he was scared shitless.

_What are they going to do to us? How can I save the others, god, what will father do. We're helpless! Have to think of something, a plan, plan, plan…………_

_As _Logan began driving he pressed a communicator on his wrist.

"Worked Charles, yeah. One's right next to me."

"……"

"Yeah, ten minutes, you get everything ready, bye."

Logan disconnected and glanced at Pietro, trying to analyze as much as possible from one look.  
_Kid looks awful, scared brainless too._

"You O.K. Kid?" 

"…."

"What's going on?"

"…."

"You don't trust us much huh?"

There was more silence.

"Should I feel insulted?"

Now Pietro glared at him.  
"Don't flatter yourself! We trust no one except each other!"

Logan sniffed, "Tabs used to be O.K., what happened to her?"

"Not my business to tell!"

"Ye look tired, why don't you rest abit?"

"No way! Who knows what you might try! Do you think I'm totally thick? Why I…"

Pietro began mumbling to himself at hyper speed so the car was filled with a steady hum.

Logan turned into the mansion drive a few minutes later and parked at the back, by the garage.

Logan got out and walked to the passenger side. Sensing a possible escape, Pietro focused on breathing slowly, feigning sleep.

He allowed Logan to pick him up, he had such a loose hold on him, and at the right moment Pietro snapped his eyes open and punched as hard as he could. Unfortunately because he was so weak it was a feeble attempt but it succeeded in Logan dropping him. He sprinted super fast into a solid mass of blue muscle.

Slightly dazed, Pietro looked at the towering figure of Beast.

He felt as if every available option was turning to dust. Like if a snowball went to hell.

A massive blue hand wrapped itself around his frail body and lifted him into the waiting arms of Wolverine. This time Wolverine kept a firm grip on him as he was carried into the mansion.

The bright light was in such contrast to the pitch black night outside. Pietro screwed up his eyes against the harsh light, his vision began to blur as they approached a doorway. Fear mounted as they neared their destination. As the fear reached its climax he passed out.

The last thing he heard as he was swept into a cold darkness was Toads voice, screaming, but it sounded like an echo. All he heard was 'Pietroo..' then the screaming was silenced by the loud bang of the door slamming shut.

As the door slammed shut, hope was lost.

_Father._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Pietro woke to birds twittering and gentle sunrays streaming across his face. He felt around. Something was odd, the sheets were clean and fresh, soft pillows supported his head, the air smelt like roses, he was so comfortable. He was just about to go back to the land of dreams when in a second of realization he was sitting up in bed in a flash.

_No wonder I thought my room was odd, it isn't my room! the others! Where are they?_

Pietro jumped out of the bed and gave a small groan as his cuts pulled again.

_Any chance of them healing without scaring is out the window._

Seeing his shoes and socks next to the bed he hurriedly put them on. A couple of cuts were bleeding again but that didn't stop him, noticing that he was still in his clothes and he looked the same as before they brought him to enemy territory could only be a good sign.

_At least they haven't experimented on me or poisoned me, yet._

In a flash he was out the door and speeding down the hallways in search of his fellow Brotherhoods. Checking in each room at hyper speed he literally ran across them in a passageway. They too had been searching for him.

As Pietro helped Lance and Tabitha to their feet after knocking them down from trying to break at 100miles an hour he looked them over, checking for any signs of hurt or ill treatment.

Tabitha was brushing the dust off her clothes and was talking away, no-one was quite sure who to.  
The problem with that damn badger is you can't do him any lasting damage, stupid moron thought a locked door would keep us at bay."

Todd looked at Pietro, "You okay, yo?"

Pietro gave a half shrug. " I'm so sorry guys, I didn't know what to do, I…."

"No, you did everything you could Pietro." Said Lance, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," added Tabitha. "Once these geeks get an idea or something in their heads, you can't do much to stop them."

Toad hopped forward, looking around anxiously, "Lets get outta here yo! Next thing they find us, who knows what they'll do!"

"I'm up for that vote," said Lance.

"Let's move out troops!" said Tabitha giving a half salute and marching down the passage.

Quicksilver scratched his head and gave her a friendly nudge.  
" I still can't get over how you take serious situations so lightly."

Tabitha nudged him back and winked.  
"That's me! As deep as a fish pond!"

They slowly began to move down the passageway and into corridors, doors led to more corridors or empty rooms.

After a few minutes they all knew they were totally and completely lost. No one was going to admit it.

"Maybe we should ask for directions?" ventured Tabitha.

She was given three death glares in return.  
"Um, ix-nay on the directions then; man, all men in general have a phobia to it, don't they?"

Finally they came across a door they had not tried.

Pietro looked to the others for confirmation. Toad simply said,  
"Go for it bro, what's the worst that could happen?"

Pietro turned the door knob and swung the door open, he turned to and gave Toad the most monstrous glare he could muster. For inside the room, the worst thing that could happen was lounging all over the place on the couches and chairs and all looking in their direction.

A room filled with the X-men teenagers.

They stared at each other for a few seconds. To Pietro, this was agony.

_I know they're slow, but this is getting retarded. The enemy is staring at them outside their living room!_

Scott was the first one to understand what was going on, he jumped to his feet and pointed a wild finger at them.  
"The Brotherhood!"

_Thank God! Way to point out the obvious._

"Get them!"

_Uh oh._

He looked to his comrades who were still staring at the advancing X-men.

"For cripes sake!" he yelled.

Pietro did what he thought anyone else in his situation would do. He slammed the door shut and locked it. He turned to the others and motioned with his hands in frantic gestures.

The others understood his gestures perfectly; it was internationally known and no matter what race, age, religion or language you were, you understood.

Run like hell.

They ran down the corridors and skidded around a corner on the rugs. Toad slipped but was caught by Pietro and Tabitha as they pushed on. As their feet slammed against the floor, they could still hear the shouts and footsteps of their pursuers.

Tabitha ran in front and took a sharp left. The others followed suit.

She motioned them through two metal sliding doors and they ran in breathlessly and turned as the doors slammed shut behind them. They could hear the puzzled voices of the X-men and their voices fading as they went further down the passage in search of the teens.

The Brotherhood gave each other a high five, their joy was short lived as a computerized voice spoke, catching them by surprise.

**-You have breached this restricted area. Please give the X code.-**

**-You have 10 seconds.-**

Toad looked at Tabitha.

"What room is this Tabs?" He dreaded the answer.

"The danger room." She said lightly.

**-8 Seconds-**

"WHAT! ARE YOU MAD!"

"No, I do not suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it. Anyway there weren't many options left."

"What do we do!"

**-3 seconds-**

Lance looked around and seemed to grow taller as he spoke with confidence.

"If we look out for each other, and work as a team, we'll be fine."

**-2 seconds-**

"Divided we are mighty,"

**-1 second-**

"Together, we are legends!"

**-Security Breach Initialized.-**

Immediately lasers appeared from the walls and assorted robotic contraptions appeared from panels in the walls and floor. The light dipped to a flickering red.

The room seemed to spin as more machinery appeared. Toad knew how dangerous this place was when he and Kurt had stumbled into it when he first met the blue elf.

Lance remembered his training sessions with the X-men in his three day trial- they had judged him the second he walked in then. The ground gave a rumble at the memory.

Tabitha too remembered the training. If baldy was so into peace then what was he training them for? A war? He had taught them to fight but not why.

Her temper rose hungrily, her fire burning passionately, only fueling her energy that would create and explode her little bombs. She was Boom Boom in more ways then one.

Pietro was the only one not to see the danger room, as he slid more to the left, battle stance posed he spoke but kept his gaze on a laser that was aiming at the small movement he had made.

"What the hell does baldy think he's doing? No wonder the X-men cream us! He should really get help for his inferiority comple-"  
He was cut off as they all jumped and scattered as a blast came from one of the machines.

Lance rolled onto his stomach and stretched out his arms and focused his hands. The rock tumbler sent a tremor that knocked several robots over and into each other. Standing up he checked if the others were okay. Everyone seemed fine, but not for long.  
"Guys, focus! This may be a good time to use what Magneto taught us!"

As they executed their plan, they began talking.

Toad bounded off the walls, doing flips and using his tongue like a whip, he pulled himself right in front of a robot and sprayed his foul slime and moved onto others as they each short circuited and exploded.  
"Why didn't you run? Back at the house, you coulda got away."

Pietro ran at lightning speed, back and forth causing the heat detectors and movement machines to go haywire and burn out.  
"I know."

Lance sent out tremors that made the floor crack into two lines, like a V. The robots were stuck in the middle, no left or right but straight forward towards them.  
"He's right you know, not that we aren't grateful, but why did you stay?"

They stood almost side by side, unfazed by the approaching weapons.

Tabitha stepped forward and stood, legs apart, in a stance and lifted her arms and in a split second gave birth to 10 spheres of burning energy. Her creations floated in midair in a wide circle, slowly they began to rotate, picking up speed, they went faster and faster and Tabitha pointed them directly into the center of the oncoming mass. They shot forward on command and as they made contact with each target, the explosions got bigger and bigger, hitting ever mark and destroying every piece of machinery in about ten seconds.

Tabitha nor the others counted on being so close to the explosions.

As they turned to try and outrun the oncoming blast she said,  
"Yeah, your father would have."

Pietro ran and grabbed Tabitha, Lance and Todd by the scruff of their shirts or arms and sprinted super speed.

The blast sent them sailing at least five feet in the air and crashing out the now open doors onto a heap on the floor, side by side.

Pietro rubbed his head and said in a voice filled with seriousness, his mouth had no lines of mocking, this was a rare minute of truth that hardly anyone ever saw.

"I'm not my father."

A pair of boots appeared in front of them.

"That you ain't Quickie."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"One, two, three!"

Tabitha sighed, shaking her head.

BAM

"Oooww."

"Okay, one, two three!"

BAM

"Oooww."

"One, two –."

Tabitha jumped up and ran between the door and the boys.

"Stop! I admire your spirit guys but it aint working."

For the last ten minutes, the Brotherhood boys had been running and banging into the locked that was keeping them captive.

They sighed in defeat as they sat down. Lounging against the bed they all agreed they

Had done their best when they had looked up from the boots to a very pissed off Logan.

Lance, like a true leader yelled,

"SCATTER!"

Pietro went in between Logans legs and out the door to the passageway. Toad spat slime at Logan who ducked, but when he looked up all he saw was Tabitha's foot disappearing around a corner. Grumbling, he ran after them but remembered who was in that direction he slowed to a slide and sauntered after them. He smiled as he heard shouts and curses of the Brotherhood and Xmen as they fought a surprisingly short battle.

He shook his head at some of the filtering dialogue.

"Ow! My tail!"

"Jean, watch were you point that thing!"

"Spike, that was like an expensive vase! Storm is so like gonna kill you!"

" Back off or I'll rock ya!"

_Those puns we need to work on Rocky._

He jerked as he heard Tabitha, "Let go of me or I swear I'll rip your arms and shove them down that friggin' grin of yours and I'll enjoy it!"

After a few more grunts and moans and yelling, Logan ventured forth.

Logan turned the corner and gave an even wider grin.

Tabitha, Lance and Todd were hanging from the chandelier, courtesy of Kurt, Scott had his hand by his ruby glasses, ready to blast if the upside down mutants tried anything.

Scott immediately started talking when Logan walked in.

"The Brotherhood broke into the mansion, we saw them running, only Pietro's missing but we'll get him!"

Logan laughed, "half right Cyke; the Brotherhood didn't break in, they're our guests."

The X-men teens' eyes opened wide in astonishment. They turned to the dangling escapees for confirmation but were startled to see them half unconscious from the blood rushing to their heads. Jean levitated them to the carpeted floor and they slowly got control over their dull limbs.

"So why were they running?" asked Evan.

"'Cause they don't really want to be our guests." Replied Logan.

Everyone gave him a weird look.

"I'll explain later, deal with these three, you know which room, I'm gonna find Quickie."

Pietro crept along quietly; he wasn't sure were the others were, but he couldn't help any one of them if he was caught himself. He almost tiptoed through a tiled hallway; he could feel a slight breeze coming from somewhere nearby. He froze stock still as he heard someone gently humming. Carefully he peeped in the doorway of were the draft had been coming from. The sweet humming had stopped. He was now faced with over a hundred plants.

_Good enough, plenty of cover at least, must be some kind of green house._

He stooped low, he paused and looked ahead; some sense of his told him something was wrong. It was incredibly quiet. The breeze seemed to be circling the room, it's source unknown. As he silently moved forward he felt something snag at his finger, his finger had been scratched by a thorn, it was bleeding a little bit, he brought his finger to his mouth and sucked at the annoying droplets of blood. There was complete silence as he noticed the breeze had disappeared. The hairs stood on the back of his neck as warm air brushed against his skin.

"How about we get a band-aid for that?" whispered a voice against his ear.

Pietro spun around, giving a yell and falling on his back.

Storm moved forward to help him to his feet, instead Pietro yelled again and scrambled further backwards.

"We haven't done anything to you or the X-geeks!"

Ororo was pained at what she saw before her, she was a Goddess who was constantly in tune with nature, and it was against everything she knew to see such unnatural fear before her.

She saw a scared, wild child.

_Where is the proud and wholesome Pietro I once knew?_

She moved slowly towards the trembling boy. Pietro's eyes flashed suspiciously. He gave a little growl, a small warning for her to back off. Storm complied and backed off. She stood a few feet away; she kept calm, hoping the child would sense the vibes and calm down. In a test of patience, she was always victor.

They both heard the echo of footsteps approaching the greenhouse, they both turned in time to see Rogue enter the room, it was clear she was looking for Storm but her gaze fell on Pietro who was still on the floor. Ignoring Storm who was shaking her head she walked slowly towards Pietro, pulling off a glove to expose her own equally pale hand.

"I'll handle this." She said as she neared, a hard, stone look upon her face.

Pietro stood up, a fresh wave of anger overcoming him. He grabbed her arms by the sleeves, surprising her by his strength. He edged his nose dangerously close to her own face.

"How dare you! You think the only way to stop somebody is to suck them like a leech, never mind what secrets you wrench from them, or memories or putting them at risk of a coma! Don't you get it? To have your secrets out? Nothing your own? No! You can steal others but can't part with your own; not much of a life you have if you have to leech it off others, is it?

Then he was gone, leaving a stunned Rogue behind.

After several seconds of zooming through each room to find a decent hiding place to get his thoughts together and clean the blood seeping through his shirt. The only place he reckoned no one would look was the bathroom.

He stood at the basin and lifted his shirt to try and wipe away some of the blood, after a few seconds he paused.

_Wait, can't Wolvie smell or track or something weird like that? I need a plan fast._

As if in a horror movie, the door swung open, Pietro turned to see who the intruder was but came face to face with an open door and nothing else. He stayed like this for a few seconds. Reassured that it was nothing he turned back to the mirror. His eye immediately caught the reflection next to him. Pietro gave a strangled cry when he saw Logan only a meter away. Logan made a grab at him but Quicksilver darted out of reach and ran straight for the door. But as he passed the doorway, he was grabbed by Storm and Beast. They both grabbed one side of the struggling boy; they lifted his feet up so only his toes brushed against the floor. Pietro began to wildly kick his legs at such a rate a wind was picking up, Logan walked up and wrapped a hairy arm around the speed demons legs and they marched him like this down the corridor. Desperate, Pietro resorted to biting; the only one in reach was Beast. Pietro began biting into the blue fur, grinding his teeth into the rubbery flesh; Logan swatted him on the head with his free hand and in response Pietro tried nipping at his fingers.

Finally they arrived at the room the others were in, the Professor had built it especially for any mutant who might become violent with their mutation. All around behind the bricks, the room was covered in extra layers of fiberglass, metal and strong plastic. Storm waited outside as Beast and Logan took Pietro inside. As they put him in the room, they told him Logan would collect him for a medical examination.

This brought shouts and a closed fist from Lance but Beast just hurriedly shut the door and prayed that the reinforcements would hold against four desperate, powerful teenagers.


	9. Chapter 9

I have been gone from this story way too long! I did start typing it up again like twice but things happened and when you lose a twenty page document twice you get disheartened you know? Well this was my baby and I hope to get back into it. Brotherhood fanfics have just about dried up. I cant be doing OC meets the boys or the boys get the girls etc etc. I like the family angst dynamic. So this might be lame but hey I am trying to get back into it. Reviews and ideas are totally welcomed and wanted! Anyway enjoy peeps.

Disclaimer: I don't own this in any way

CHAPTER 9

The Brotherhood froze as the door was unlocked with a click. Wolverine and beast walked in and looked down at the teenagers who were sitting on the floor, looking really tired.

"Sorry we took so long. We were just getting the hospital section ready." Said Beast.

Silence.

"Lets get going kids. Don't try anything." Growled Wolverine.

Lance nodded wearily and indicated his team to get up; they followed his lead as he rose slowly to his feet. They shuffled towards the door in a single file and exited, Wolverine in front and Beast behind them.

Tabitha gave a yawn and looked at Toad. "You okay?" she asked him.

"I don't want to go." Said Toad in a small voice.

Lance sighed. "I know. I know buddy. We don't have a choice though. All we can do is … KICK ASS!" he yelled and grabbed at Wolverine's back.

The whole teams demeanor immediately changed, they snapped to attention. Pietro zoomed at Beast and knocked him off his feet. Tom slimed at his foot and managed to stick it to the carpet.

"What's the plan oh fearless leader?" asked Pietro.

Lance had his arm hooked around Logan's neck and was holding on. Logan turned his back to the wall and slammed Lance into it. Lance looked winded for a second but just held on tighter.

"Get Tabitha and Todd out of here!" he yelled.

"What about you and Pietro?" asked Tabitha.

"Leave us. We can make a plan." Said Lance as Logan slammed him into the wall again.

"No!" cried Tabitha rushing towards him.

"No arguments." Said Lance between clenched teeth.

"Logan! Stop! He is just a child!" called out Beast, just about to pull free from the slime.

Lance brought his fist down on Logan's head with a hard thump.

"He doesn't hit like a kid!" yelled Logan, then threw his body forward, causing Lance to fly over his head.

"Pietro get these two out of here!" yelled Lance.

Pietro nodded and grabbed an arguing Tabitha's arm and the back of Todd's top.

"What about you?" asked Pietro as he prepared to speed off.

"I'm bringing this place down." He said, eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Then Pietro was gone. Lance had just managed to get a rumble going when Logan and Beast tackled him.

He yelled and struggled, trying to punch at the Xmen. "You're friends aren't going to get far." Said Logan. "You might as well listen to what the Professor has to say."

….

Pietro was racing down the staircase when he felt something pull at his leg. Kitty smiled at him as his leg disappeared into the staircase and with a yelp he released Tabitha and Todd. The momentum sent the two crashing down the last few stairs. Tabitha was the first to get up, slightly disorientated. She gave a gasp as some force picked her up and slammed her into the wall.

"Ms. Perfect." She growled.

"Ms. Delinquent." Sneered Jean.

"Hey there's no need for that." Said Rogue as she bent down to check on the unconscious Todd.

Or not.

"Surprise!" yelled Todd and spat slime at her. Rogue gave a shriek. "You slime ball!"

Todd made a move towards Jean who had a struggling Tabitha pinned to the wall with her telekinesis.

"Not so fast bug boy." Said Evan as Todd was cut off by a spike.

Todd grabbed the spike and pulled it free from the carpet. He held it like a club.

"Hey Todd." Gasped Tabitha. "Home run."

A small ball of energy made a crackling sound as it bounced towards Todd. Todd smiled and gave it a whack with the spike and it hit the stairway with a huge explosion. Jean lost her concentration on Tabitha as she used her concentration to make shields around herself.

Todd grabbed Tabitha and pulled her along. "We got to get Pietro!" he yelled.

"No." she said shaking her head. "We have to get you out of here."

Tabitha gave a small yell as Rogue tackled her from behind. Tabitha managed to get on her back and used her legs to keep Rogue's hands away from her bare skin.

Todd looked up and saw Kurt had Pietro suspended over the railing. He turned to see Beast dragging Lance down the hallway.

Todd then did something he often didn't have a chance to do.

He made a choice.

"Enough!" he yelled.

Everyone stopped to look at him.

"Enough." Said Toad again, a little quieter. He looked to Logan. "Please show me the way to the Professor's office."

"Todd no!" yelled Tabitha.

Todd turned to her. "Rogue get off her. Kurt get Pietro on his feet. Beast let go of Lance."

"If we let them go, you guys are going to run!" shouted Evan.

Todd walked towards the stairs and began to hop up them. "These are my teammates. They aren't going to leave me behind. They will go where I go and I'm going to stop you guys kill each other and see what the Prof has to say."

Logan nodded and the remaining Brotherhood members were released. Tabitha struggled to her feet and Rogue offered a gloved hand to help her up.

"Change of heart much." Hissed Tabitha, ignoring it.

"We aren't fighting anymore." Said Jean.

"Like you ever need a reason to fight." Said Tabitha making her way up the stairs with a slight limp.

"You were like the ones destroying our home." Said Kitty, looking pointedly at the destroyed part of the staircase."

"Your precious Xmen are the ones who dragged us from our home." Said Pietro joining Lance and Tabitha and Todd at the top of the staircase.

"You call that place a home?" said Scott sarcastically, appearing from one of the corridors, Professor X in tow.

Tabitha winced and Lance grabbed her and turned her around, examining her shoulder and then lifting up a small portion of her shirt exposing an obviously broken rib and touched the top of her head were there was blood.

"You call yourselves the good guys?" he asked.

Jean at least had the decency to blush. "I was just trying to keep her pinned. I didn't mean to use so much force."

"Guess Ms. Perfect isn't so perfect." Said Tabitha.

Xavier held up his hands. "Before this turns into a fight, lets stop now. Lets get you four to the medical ward. Doctor McCoy will lead the way."

Kurt teleported next to Tabitha. "You can lean on my shoulder." He offered.

"No thanks blue. Any more of the 'good guy's' help and I might end up dead."

Kurt looked hurt but kept quiet.

Lance put a reassuring arm on Toad's shoulder. "That was a big step you made there." He whispered.

Toad nodded. "You guys were hurt, I just wanted it to stop."

They all move towards the medical ward, "I hope it was the right choice." Said Todd as they came to the medical ward, the smell of medicine in the air and lots of shiny, possibly painful things in plain view.

"Hey for a hood, you trying to do the right thing is breaking the mold." Said Lance with a small smile.

"Whatever happens," said Pietro, "you did it to help us. That makes it right no matter what the outcome."

"Thanks guys."

For once Todd didn't slouch; he walked through the door with his head held high.


End file.
